Many people love to hate Linkin Park. Based on record sales, however, even more love their music. Hybrid Theory was extraordinarily successful for a debut album, selling some 24 million copies.
The new album, Minutes to Midnight is a bit more “mature” than LP’s earlier work — if by “mature” one means it substitutes political commentary for the angst-written, angry-at-the-world nu-metal vibe that dominated their earlier work. Rolling Stone likes the evolution; NME was not so impressed. Love them or hate them, here’s a taste of the lyrics from the first single, “What I’ve Done”:
In this farewell
There’s no blood
There’s no alibi
‘Cause I’ve drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand liesSo let mercy come
And wash away…What I’ve done
I’ll face myself
To cross out what I’ve become
Erase myself
And let go of what I’ve done
“What I’ve Done” seems to be doing well so far, but I would be shocked if the new album replicates the success of Hybrid Theory.